The Last of Us: We Have Another Chance
by Xabtiz
Summary: What happened after the Last of Us ended with a lie? Find out now and why. Rated M for language and violence.
1. Chapter 1

(So, I just wanted to mention that this is the very first time I'm writing a story in first person POV. Let me know how I do. And by the way, the title of the chapter tells who's POV that chapter is in.)

THE LAST OF US: WE HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE

CHAPTER 1: ELLIE

He told me that there were others like me. Apparently dozens of other people were also immune to the infection. But there was nothing that the Fireflies could do to make a vaccine. He said that all their attempts had failed, and they stopped searching for a cure before they could test on me.

Even after I made him swear, I couldn't believe it.

I don't want to think that he would lie to me… Not after all that we've been through. Me and Joel, we've been through a lot together. We had a thing going on; kind of the same thing that happens between a father and a daughter. But would he throw away our last chance to make a cure, the world's last hope for survival, for me?

I didn't think so… But at the same time, that sounds just like Joel. Some people might think that I should be flattered, because, you know… 'I'm more important than the world' blah, blah, blah. But ever since that promise, I always felt awkward around him. I couldn't shake the feeling of losing a trust relationship.

"I swear," Joel said. He looked at me straight in the eyes. That didn't help at all.

"Okay," That's all I could say. I wanted to yell at him, and at the same time, cry my fucking eyes out. We just stood there for what seemed like an eternity, though it was probably only a few seconds.

"Come on," he said. "Let's get a move on."

"Sure," I mumbled.

We were heading to Tommy's town, to live there peacefully, I guess. He made a lot of progress since we visited him in the spring. Now the town looked more like an _actual_ town. There were fully built houses, street lamps, and telephone poles with wires that actually had electricity running through this. Any other time, I would've been overwhelmed with excitement.

"Not much farther," Joel said.

I didn't say anything. He glanced back at me, but only for a second. Still, I tried to avoid any more eye contact.

Finally, we reached the gates that guarded the town. Joel knocked on the metal doors. Instantly, I heard some commotion inside. Hopefully they didn't start a new 'shoot first and ask questions later' routine.

"Oh, it's you," A woman standing on top of one of the city walls said in a harsh tone.

"It's nice to see you again, too, ma'am," Joel replied.

"Hey, Ellie," She said.

"Hi, Maria," I responded.

My heart seemed to stop when I heard an all too familiar noise; that loud screeching with distinctive clicks.

"Clickers…" I said.

"Shit," Joel said. "Hurry up in there!"

The clickers were now in my sight, and they were running. At least twenty human shaped things with a disgusting fungus growing over their faces were blindly charging after us, flailing their arms around.

"God damn it," Maria said. "Tommy! Get the door!"

Joel pulled out his revolver, while I pulled out my 9 mm. pistol. We both started shooting while Maria took aim with her hunting rifle. The three of us took out ten clickers before Tommy got the door open.

"You sure took your goddamn time!" Joel shouted.

"Just get the fuck in there!" Tommy yelled, shooting a couple clickers with a shotgun.

Joel and I ran inside, and Tommy closed and locked the door behind them. After a few moments, Maria came down from the wall.

"That was too damn close," Maria said.

I breathed heavily, "Since when do fucking clickers travel in packs?"

"Who the hell knows," Tommy said. "It seems like the infected are getting smarter. I mean, the stalkers are starting to get better at hiding, the runners are attempting to be quiet, and the damn clickers are traveling in packs."

"Well, shit," Joel said.

"What about bloaters?" I asked, just out of a weird curiosity.

"We don't see enough of those to tell," Tommy answered. "I hope not."

We stood there for a few seconds. I guess the four of us were just taking everything in. It's crazy to think that the infected were getting smarter. After what I've seen, I was convinced that the infection destroys the mind. I guess I might have been wrong.

"Well, anyway," Tommy broke the silence, "Welcome back, Joel."

Tommy and Joel shared a little bro-hug. Once they separated, Tommy came over to me and held one arm out. I stepped closer and hugged him back with one arm.

"It's good to have you back, Ellie," he said.

"It's great to be back," I replied bluntly.

"Alright," Tommy said. "Come with me, I'll show you guys a place where you can stay."

We walked towards the more suburban area of the town. It almost looked… peaceful. I wondered if it was this relaxed back when everyone lived in suburbs without having to worry about survival.

"So in each of the houses," Tommy explained. "You'll have electricity, running water, and radio."

"Is there anything you can't pull off?" I asked.

"Well, sort of," Tommy admitted. "We're still working on getting heat and air conditioning working, but we'll figure that one out soon."

"And all this runs off of the dam?" Joel asked.

"You bet," Tommy said. "Free, clean energy. And it only took an apocalypse to do it."

"No pollution, and no bills," Joel said to himself. "I like the sound of that."

Tommy stopped in front of one of the small houses. This is the first time I remember seeing a fully built – and clean – house. It felt great. Not to mention the fact that it smelled a lot better than it did back in Boston.

"Well, here we are," Tommy said. He pulled out a key, and tossed it to Joel. "That opens every door in the house, except…"

He tossed me another key. This one was only about have the size of the one Joel got.

"Only that key will open your room, Ellie," Tommy explained. "You get your own private little area."

"Fuck yes," I said, and darted into the house.

"Whoa, not so fast," Joel stopped me in _our_ living room (I'll need to get use to saying that). He pulled off his pack, and opened it up. Out of it, he pulled out all of the issues of _Savage Starlight_ that we've collected in the past year. "Here you go. I haven't checked how many we got, but there's a bunch of them there."

"Oh cool, thanks," I said as I took the comics. I started looking at the titles and numbers, just making sure we didn't miss anything. "Let's see… _Termination Shock, Messenger Particle, Force Carrier, Uncertainty…_ Hold on… Fuck…"

"What's wrong?" Joel asked.

"I'm missing a couple… five and seven." I said.

Tommy walked towards me, observing the comics. "What's that called… _Savage Starlight?_ You know, I think I might have seen a couple of those around here. I'll be right back."

Maria's radio starting going off. I heard something about needing help holding off some infected.

"I have to go," she said. "I'll see you two around."

"See you later," Joel and I said at the same time.

Then, me and Joel were left alone together. If anything, that's not what I wanted right now.

"Hey, Ellie," He said. "About what we talked about earlier, I've been meaning to say that…"

"Listen, Joel," I interrupted. "I really need time to myself right now."

He hesitated, but eventually nodded. "Okay."

"Thanks," I said dryly as I walked down the hallway. I found a door with my name engraved on a miniature plaque.

"This must be the place," I told myself.

I opened up the door to see a large, yet simple room. Just the way I like it. In the far corner was a bed with probably the world's softest mattress. On another wall, there was a book shelf. It didn't have anything on it yet, but I hoped to fill it up. I started with the _Savage Starlight _comics.

I looked at the opposite side of the room, and noticed a dresser. Hesitantly, I walked over and opened one of the drawers. I never thought I would be the kind of girl to be so happy over clothes, but give me a break. It's been a long time since I had freshly cleaned clothes.

I slipped on some new (well, new to me) jeans, a white t-shirt, and a dark blue flannel over that. I made sure to roll the sleeves down over my bites. I didn't know who knew about them, or who would ever find out.

"Hey, Ellie," I heard Tommy say outside _my_ (again, I need to get use to saying that) door. "Can I come in for a minute?"

"Sure," I said. "It's unlocked."

He walked in with a comic in his hand. "Here's number five, _Foreign Elements._ I don't think I've seen seven around here anywhere."

"Sweet, thanks," I said. I set it on the shelf with the other comics.

"Come on out here," He said, beckoning me out of the room. "I see you found your new clothes."

"Yeah," I replied as we walked out of the room. "I saw them, and thought I would give them a shot."

"I was hoping that they would fit," He said.

"Wait a minute," I thought out loud. "How did you know to get clothes ready for me?"

"Well," Tommy said. We made it to the living room, where Joel was pacing around. "I kind of figured Joel would come back after he met up with the Fireflies. Speaking of which, how did that go?"

"Actually, Tommy," Joel said before I had the chance to open my mouth. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh," Tommy said. Clearly they've been discussing some things while I was in my room.

"Hey, Ellie," Joel said. "Why don't you go get something to eat?"

I knew he was just trying to get rid of me so he can talk with Tommy, but honestly, I couldn't resist an offer for food. "Alright."

"Just find Maria," Tommy said. "If she's not too busy, she could help you out with that."

"Sure thing," I said. I stepped outside, and took a deep breath of fresh, summer air.


	2. Chapter 2

THE LAST OF US: WE HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE

CHAPTER 2: JACK

I ran as hard as I could to escape that damn thing. Alright, I know that _one _clicker shouldn't be a huge deal. But I was out of ammo, and had no other weapons. And I was in no mood to punch a clicker and getting my hand gnawed on.

Anyway, I was running from a clicker through the woods. Once I got onto some make-shift path… _BAM!_ With the sound of a rifle, the clicker fell down, and there, about thirty feet away from me, was a familiar face.

"Hey, Jack," the man said.

I pulled out my pistol, and aimed it at him. Like I said before, I have no ammo, but he didn't know that.

"Whoa man," he said. "Take it easy. I just wanted to say 'hi.' It's been a while since we've seen each other."

"Yeah," I said. "Did you ever think that there was a fucking reason for that?"

"Jack, come on…" He pleaded.

"Drop the gun," I interrupted him.

"W-what?" He asked, dumbfounded.

"You heard me, drop the goddamn gun," I repeated.

He set it down next to his feet.

"Do you take me for an idiot, Kyle?" I asked rhetorically. "Kick it over here."

"Jack…" he attempted to speak.

"I'm not fucking around, Kyle," I said harshly. "Kick it over here!"

He did so, and I picked up the hunting rifle.

"Oh, by the way…" I said as I showed him the empty clip in my pistol.

"Hey, fuck you man!" Kyle shouted. "I need my rifle!"

"Actually, it's _my_ rifle now," I corrected, and aimed the gun at him. "Now, why the hell are you here?"

"Just… looking for food," He answered reluctantly.

"What, are you tired of cannibalism?" I asked.

"Fuck off, Jack," Kyle yelled. "Everything's harder since David died, and…"

"Whoa, whoa, hold up," I interrupted. "David's dead?"

"Yeah, maybe if you fucking stayed, you would know that," Kyle said.

"The old bastard had it coming…" I started.

"Stop being a little prick, Jack," Kyle said. "The man was your father. He helped us survive…"

"Survive?" I stopped him. "He was making us eat people, Kyle. That's not surviving. That's just a step down from infected. The human race is already fucking dying out."

We both fell silent as we heard screaming behind us.

"Fucking runners…" Kyle said.

He turned to run, and I shot him in the leg, and he fell to the ground.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" He shouted.

With a crowbar from my pack, I broke both of his arms, and started searching him for ammo. I glanced around for the runners… no sign of them yet. But I could hear them coming. I found some bullets for the rifle inside his jacket.

"Hey, those are mine!" He shouted.

"Not anymore. See ya," I said, and began to walk away.

"So, what? You're just going to fucking leave me to those things?!"

I hesitated, but then walked back to him. "You're right. I'm not that cruel."

I shot him right between the eyes. Unfortunately, that caught the attention of the infected. And a hundred at a time, they came stampeding towards me.

"Why the fuck not," I sighed, and took off running in the opposite direction.

Some of the infected were distracted by the buffet I killed for them, but that didn't help the fact that at least eighty more running after me. I know these things traveled in packs, but this was a bit of an upgrade for them.

I was fast for a sixteen year old, but only barely faster than the infected. They were able to keep up with me enough to track me. I was running out of time and energy.

After about half a mile, the runners were still chasing me. Again, that's not normal for them. I had quite a bit of distance away from them, though. But that would only last a few seconds. I saw what looked like a town in the distance. Call me crazy, but it looked like a fully built town. This day just keeps getting stranger.

I risked a glance behind me, and got a rush of adrenaline. Those things were already catching up. I ran down to the large metal door, and started frantically knocking.

"Hey, open up!" I shouted.

The infected were only thirty yards away from me now. I pulled out the rifle, and started shooting. I wouldn't be able to hold off this many runners for long.

"What in the hell are you…" a woman standing at the top of the wall said. "Shit, infected!"

"No shit?" I yelled.

"Damn it," She said. "Someone get the door! We've got a kid cornered here!"

Kid? Alright, whatever.

She shot at some of them while I reloaded the rifle. Other guys also took aim on the walls while I started opening fire. Eventually, the door opened up.

"Hey!" a voice called from behind me. I turned to see a red haired girl opening the door. "Get the fuck in here!"

I didn't hesitate to rush into the town. I helped the girl close the door behind me. The infected tried as hard as they could to bash the door down. After a few moments, the banging ceased as the people on the walls shot the runners down.

The woman who was on the wall made her way down to meet me.

"Hey there," she said. "What's your name?"

"What does it matter?" I asked. Behind me, I heard the red haired girl chuckle.

"Well, nothing," the woman responded. "That is, if you like being referred to as 'the kid.'"

"Jack," I said. "My name's Jack."

"Nice to meet you, Jack," she replied. "I'm…"

"Wait a minute," The red haired girl interrupted. "What the fuck happened to 'you better be lost?'"

"I don't know," the woman said. "Things change, Ellie. And, you and Joel weren't about to be mauled by infected. Anyway, my name's Maria."

"Pleasure," I said dryly. I turned to the red haired girl. "Ellie, right?"

"Yeah," She nodded.

"Hey, Ellie," Maria said. "You should take him to Tommy. See if he has an extra place to spare for Jack, here."

"Whatever," Ellie said. "Come on, Jack."

I followed her through the town. Everyone seemed at peace here. The town was so well organized. Whoever was behind this – Tommy, I guessed – put some serious thought into it.

"So," I tried to start conversation after a few moments of walking. "Do you live here?"

"Kind of just moved in," Ellie replied.

"Oh," I said. "How did you end up here?"

"That's kind of a long story," She said. "And a painful one."

"Say no more," I said. "Where's this Tommy at?"

"In this house ahead of us," she answered. "Not much farther."

"Cool," I said.

Once we arrived, we heard conversation from within. I couldn't make out what was being said, even when the two men yelled. But Ellie had her ear right to the door, and seemed to be trying to hold back tears.

"Sorry you have to see this," Ellie said with a shaky voice.

"See what?" I asked.

She opened the door, and inside were the two men with very shocked looks on their faces.


	3. Chapter 3

THE LAST OF US: WE HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE

CHAPTER 3: JOEL

"You did what?" Tommy croaked, hardly able to believe what I told him.

"They wanted to kill her, Tommy," I told him.

"God damn it, Joel," he said. "What in the hell were you thinking?"

"I wasn't going to let them kill her for…" I started.

"For the entire fucking world?" Tommy finished. "Joel, we could be done with fighting infected. We could be…"

"Tommy," I interrupted. "No matter how it would've turned out, it wouldn't have been worth it. Not to me. Now, you tell me that the next time you look into her eyes, you can think you are willing to throw that away."

Tommy sighed, "Damn it, Joel. What exactly happened? Didn't anyone try to stop you?"

"Marlene did," I told him. "Right before we left."

"And?" Tommy asked.

"She tried to tell me that I could still do the right thing," I said. "She told me I could still take here back in there."

"What did you do?" Tommy asked, getting worked up.

"I shot her," I answered. "She would just keep coming after Ellie if I left her alive."

The door swung open, and standing there, was Ellie. She looked at me with sorrow and hatred in her eyes. She had been listening to our conversation.

"Shit," is all I could say.

"Yeah," she responded, almost too calmly. "Shit."

"Now, Ellie, listen to me," I started.

"No, fuck you, Joel!" Ellie interrupted. "We had a fucking chance to end this!"

She stormed out of the house, and I followed behind her.

"Ellie, let me explain to you…" I tried to say.

She turned to me, tears running down her face. "You don't need to explain a damn thing, Joel. I don't know what in the hell you were thinking, but I can't replace your daughter."

"Now hold on," I raised my voice. "I never said a damn thing about that."

"You don't need to," Ellie yelled. "It's already fucking obvious! You think I'm filling up some emotional hole you got when you lost Sarah."

I tried to argue, but hesitated. That pause was all it took for Ellie to run off. She ran back towards the house. I had a feeling she was going to take advantage of her private little area.

I looked around to see other people avoiding eye contact with me. I slowly walked to the new house Tommy gave us. I stopped at the door, almost afraid that Ellie would be standing there with a gun, deciding whether to take my life, or her own.

I opened the door slowly, to see only Tommy and some other kid in the living room.

"Where's Ellie?" I asked.

"She ran back to her room," Tommy said. "She didn't say anything, and she locked the door behind her"

"Son of a bitch…" I whispered.

"By the way," Tommy broke a few moments of silence. "This is Jack. He will be staying with you for a while."

"Hold on, Tommy," I protested, "I don't have time for…"

"It's just for a little while," Tommy said. "We're still doing some construction, and I don't want to pick a house for him until they're finished. He'll stay here until that happens."

I sighed with annoyance, "Alright, how long?"

"About a week," Tommy said. "Maybe a day or two more."

"Fine," I said. "Does he have his own things?"

"Only what he brought," Tommy said, then gestured to Jack as if to say: _take it away._

"Just some weapons and food," he said.

"And I'll bring him some stuff for sleeping," Tommy finished. "Let me just…"

Maria surged into the door, almost taking it off of its hinges.

"We have a problem," she said. "The infected are swarming the area."

"Alright, I'll take care of it," Tommy said. "You just go back to the office, and relax. You shouldn't be running around so much. Joel, I need your help, come on."

I followed Tommy and Maria out of the house. Maria headed to the center of the town, while Tommy and I went to the walls. When we reached the top, I gazed into a horrible view.

Infected of all varieties charged for the walls. Runners, stalkers, clickers, and even dozens of bloaters, completely covered in the infectious fungus, moved their way to the town. I pulled the hunting rifle from my pack. Through the scope, I looked more closely at the horde.

"Oh, shit," I said.

I saw something that made my heart drop, and that doesn't happen very often. Tommy was right about the infected getting smarter. The runners were shouting at the clickers and bloaters to lead them to the walls.

_BAM!_ I took out a clicker. At least a dozen men were on this side of the wall shooting at the stampede below us. That wouldn't hold out for long. But any other person with a gun was holding up the other areas of the wall.

_BAM!_ Another kill. The stalkers started to run for cover, as they usually do. Bloaters started to get extremely close to the wall.

"Tommy, you got a rag on you?" I asked him.

"Sure thing, here," Tommy handed me a small piece of cloth.

Out of my pack, I pulled out a pack of matches and a bottle of alcohol. I stuffed the rag into the bottle, and lit a match to light the cloth. I threw the Molotov cocktail at the nearest bloater, and it went up in flames.

I pulled out my revolver and shot at more runners and clickers. The bodies were starting to pile up. Ash piles were forming from burned infected. But as time passed, they started to close in on us.

Bloaters teamed up to attack the metal walls. It was rare that there was ever more than one bloater in the same place. But even then, I never saw teamwork like this from any of the infected.

"Get off the wall!" Tommy yelled as the bloaters began to puncture the metal. I jumped off just in time to escape the blast. Unfortunately, the guy next to me was not so lucky.

The man desperately tried to crawl away from the beast's grasp. But, despite our weapons, the bloater lifted him from the ground, and gripped his jaw. It pulled down on his jaw until his face was literally ripped in half.

"Son of a bitch, they're in!" Tommy yelled, throwing another Molotov cocktail.

I pulled out a flamethrower, and aimed it mostly at the bloaters. Flames swallowed everything in their path. Being made of fungus, the infected were very sensitive to fire.

"Cover me," I told Tommy as the tank on the flamethrower emptied. I grabbed another tank that was in my pack, and loaded it to the gun.

When I turned around, I was face to face with a clicker. I had to use all of my strength to hold it back. It repeatedly chomped its jaws, trying to get at least one bite out of me. Tommy shot it to get it off of me, and it fell to the ground.

"Thanks," I said.

"Anytime," He replied.

I swapped my rifle with a shotgun, since the infected were getting close. _BAM!_ The infected that were directly in front of me were blasted back. _BAM!_ Another group of runners were thrown to the ground. But still, we were heavily outnumbered.

"Shit, we're running out of fighters, Tommy!" I yelled.

"I can fucking see that! Everyone fall back! Find cover and defend those who can't fight!"

Everyone in the area listened to Tommy, and ran to the nearest building to protect their supplies and their loved ones. Tommy and I ran back to get Maria, who was battling a clicker who broke into the building.

"Get the fuck off of her!" Tommy smashed the clicker in the head with a metal pipe. The clicker tried to get up again, but I kicked it down and shot it, point blank, with my revolver.

"Are you okay?" Tommy asked Maria.

"I'm fine," She replied. "Let's get out of here. This damn place will be too hard to defend."

"Let's go to my house," I suggested. "There are not too many windows, and I have to get to Ellie."

"Sounds like a plan," Tommy agreed. "Let's go."

We darted out the door into a massacre.


	4. Chapter 4

THE LAST OF US: WE HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE

CHAPTER 4: ELLIE

He fucking lied.

Joel, the only man I've fully trusted for the past god damn year, lied to me. I didn't even know what to say, or to think. He threw away our last chance to save humanity to spare my life. And, how do I know he won't fucking lie again in the future?

I punched the wall for the fourth time, causing my knuckles to bleed.

"Damn it!" I yelled at myself.

I heard a knock on the door. I was in no mood for Joel trying to convince me that what he did was right.

"Fuck off!" I shouted.

"Alright then," a different voice said.

"Wait!" I yelled. I got up and unlocked my door. When I opened it, that Jack kid was standing there.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," I replied.

"So, you said something about fucking off, so I'll just…" he sarcastically took a step back.

"Look, I'm… sorry," I apologized. "I thought you were Joel. Come on in."

"Sorry to interrupt your bleeding," he gestured to my hand. "But Joel and Tommy left. I need to chat with someone."

"Why did they leave?" I asked.

"Something about infected swarming the perimeter," He said. "Apparently, it's really bad."

"Well, damn," I said.

"Yeah, no fucking kidding," He replied.

We stood there for a few awkward moments. I stepped back so that he could enter the room. He glanced around the area, and his eyes locked on the comics on my shelf.

"_Savage Starlight,_ huh?" he asked.

"Yeah, there pretty good," I replied.

"I know," he said. "I've read them."

"Oh," I said, kind of shocked. I thought these comics were really hard to find. "Well, don't spoil anything for me. I've only read half of the series."

"Well, why's that?" he asked.

"I'm missing one of the issues," I answered. "Number seven."

"_Free Radicals,_" he said. "That's a pretty good one. Daniela and Ryan became the most wanted people in the solar system after their escape."

"You're getting me all excited when I can't even read it," I told him. "I thought I told you not to spoil anything."

"Oh, I'm not spoiling anything," he said, and took off his pack. He unzipped it, and pulled out a comic… issue seven. He handed the paper book to me.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I said in disbelief.

"I've already read all of them," Jack said. "You can have that one to finish your collection."

"Um, thanks," I said. "Jack, right?"

"Yeah, no problem," he nodded. "Ellie, right?"

"Yeah," I answered.

We stood there for a few more awkward moments. I looked down at the comic in my hands.

"Anyway," I broke the silence. "I'll start reading this as soon as I can."

"You've got time now," he told me.

"Yeah, I know," I replied. "But you said you wanted to chat with someone. So, what's up?"

"A ceiling, for once," He cracked.

I couldn't help but chuckling. "Where are you from?"

"I came from a little society of people," Jack explained.

"Why'd you leave?" I asked.

"They started a new… method for surviving," he answered. "I don't really like to talk about it."

"Okay," I said. "Fair enough."

"So what about you?" he asked. Oh boy…

"I came from Boston," I said. "How I got here is a longer story."

"Fair enough," he replied.

We fell silent for a while. In the distance, we could hear the gunshots from outside. That seemed like a lot for infected. As I listened more carefully, I could've sworn that the sounds were getting closer.

Then, _SMASH!_ A clicker bashed threw my window, and tried to grab me.

"Oh fuck!" Jack yelled as he shot it with a pistol.

The clicker exploded with blood, and fell lifeless on my bed. My new fucking bed was now covered in blood. Just my luck, right?

"Oh my god…" I said in shock.

"Come on," Jack said, pulling me off the ground.

We ran out of my room, only to run into Joel and Tommy in the living room, barricading the windows.

"Ellie," Joel said to me, "Come on, we have to defend this place."

I checked my pistol to make sure it was loaded. Check. I looked around the room and did a mental headcount of all the people: Me, Joel, Tommy, Maria, and Jack. Us against hundreds of infected. Our odds were looking great.

After the windows were blocked, Tommy and Maria ran to a huge metal box that I never noticed before. They tried to push it out of the way, but it was too heavy.

"Joel, give us a hand with this," Tommy said. Joel moved to them to help push the box. Jack and I also helped out.

The five of us were able to move the box, revealing a trap door that lead to a secret underground area. Tommy was a fucking genius.

We each jumped in, and Tommy locked the door from the inside.

"Now we have to keep quiet," Tommy explained. "The door will hold out anything, unless one of those damn bloaters hears us."

We each silently agreed, and sat down in the room. It was dark, humid, and completely silent. Not creepy at all.

I'm a liar, this is really fucking creepy.

Jack sat next to me on one side of the room, while Joel sat across from me. Tommy and Maria sat together to the side. And we all stayed quiet. Whoever thought that silence was peaceful was a dumb ass.

All we could do was look at each other. We all exchanged looks like we were trying to communicate with aliens. We could still hear the slaughter right above our heads.

I looked at Jack, who closed his eyes and relaxed. He was almost too calm. But he reminded me of something…

You know, one would think that I would have carried my comics with me. But no, I had to fucking leave them upstairs. I wanted to scream at myself, but this probably wasn't the best time.

I decided that now would be a good time for a little nap. Jack was already way ahead of us on that. I leaned back against the wall, and closed my eyes.

I didn't dream, but that's usually what happens. I woke up after what felt like a few seconds, but it was actually a few hours. And, get this… I fell over onto Jack's shoulder. Not embarrassing enough? I was drooling…

Anyway, the massacre above seemed to have stopped. Tommy unlocked the trap door, and cautiously stepped into our living room, which, by the way, wasn't a fucking living room anymore.

Jack woke up from the noise of the trap door opening. Thank god, he didn't see my embarrassing moment. But he did silently question the wet spot on his arm. Thankfully, he shrugged it off.

We all stepped up into the destroyed house. There was no sign of infected anywhere. They literally just attacked, killed, ate, and then left. Apparently, all of the houses had the magical dark holes underneath, because survivors started coming out of the destroyed buildings.

We walked around, and Tommy started counting people by name. Then he looked at the buildings, and the power supplies.

"Son of a bitch," he said.

"What's wrong?" Joel asked.

"Food," Tommy answered. "We don't have nearly enough."

"We'll go hunting," I suggested. The thought of me suggesting that I do something with Joel made me feel nauseous. But, for now, we had more important things to worry about.

"I'll come along," Jack insisted. "I have a gun and a good aim. Plus you might need some help carrying your loot."

"Alright," Tommy said. "Joel, are you feeling up to it?"

He sighed, "Sure, why not?"

"Oh, Tommy," Maria said. "I have to talk to you about something… privately."


	5. Chapter 5

THE LAST OF US: WE HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE

CHAPTER 5: CHRIS

I'm going to kill him. That man who killed my friends, and more importantly, my sister. He threw away mankind's last chance for survival, and took many good lives with him.

I read over the mission brief again:

MAY 11, 15:00

TARGETS: 1 – ELLIE; 2 – JOEL

TASK: CAPTURE TARGET 1, ELIMINATE TARGET 2

MISSION LEADER: CHRIS DAVIDS

"Hey, Chris," someone called. "We're ready to pack up camp, on your word."

"Go ahead," I told the man, who was now strapping on the symbol of the Fireflies onto his arm. "We need to get moving soon."

"Yes sir," he said, and then went to spread the word.

I fiddled with the two Firefly pendants around my neck. One of them had my name engraved into it, and the other had MARLENE engraved into it. I found my sister's pendant on her body, just after Joel drove away with Ellie. I needed to find them.

"Don't worry, sis," I said to myself. "I'll get him."

He killed Marlene out of fear. From what I understand, he thought that Marlene would come after Ellie. Which, don't get me wrong, she would've. But we as the Fireflies didn't have another choice. We were trying to save the world from…

"Infected!" yeah, that. Someone shouted on the other side of the camp. As quickly as I could, I picked up my assault rifle, and darted in that direction.

Bullets started flying as hundreds of infected swarmed the area. Unless I was going crazy, it looked like runners were attracting clickers to the area. I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't normal behavior for them.

"Damn it," I said. "Conserve your ammo! Shoot the clickers, attack the runners head on!"

This technique worked out pretty well. Our ammo was only used for targets that would be extremely dangerous to approach. But we had to change our tactics when the bloaters came from the woods.

I froze in shock as the bloaters ripped my friends' faces in half. It took me a moment to regain my thoughts.

"Everyone, run!" I ordered. "We will regroup later! Spread out!"

Everyone who heard me spread out in all different directions. I also dashed for the woods. I ran as hard as I could to escape the clearing. When I looked back, I saw that I was being pursued. Two runners and a clicker were running close behind me. The clicker, being unable to run, was being lead by one of the runners, while the other charged me at full speed.

I turned around completely, and aimed the assault rifle at them. I shot until all three of the infected fell down. I stayed alert for anything that heard the shots as I set up a mini-camp.

I didn't set up a fire, in fear that something would be attracted to the smoke. Who knows, clickers may have developed a new fucking smoke detecting sense.

I contemplated the small battle that happened just now. The infected were somehow… better. Instead of just rampaging few at a time, they were devastating everything as an army. They were starting to develop strategy. And the runners were helping.

Normally, the first two stages of the infection, runners and stalkers, are less likely to attack compared to clickers and bloaters. During these first stages, the infected human is still aware of their actions, but cannot control their selves. But because the original human is still there, they can usually try to resist the temptation to attack.

But I didn't see any human there. The runners were just as malicious as the clickers were. Not one infected resisted an attack. That scared me more than any of the twenty one years of this apocalypse ever has.

I made a quick scan of the area. There was no sign of infected. I pulled out my radio, and tried to contact my team.

"Does anyone read me?" I asked. I waited a few seconds with no response.

"Can anyone hear this?" I repeated. I waited a few more seconds.

"I read you," Someone responded. "What are your orders, boss?"

"Track my radio's location," I said. "Regroup to me, spread the word."

"Yes sir," He said, and the radio fell silent.

I knew I could always count on my men. We as the Fireflies learned that we have to stick together. Where the government has always tried to separate and conceal everyone into different quarantine zones, people end up killing each other. That's why we joined together. We revolted against the dysfunctional military. What they were doing only ensured more deaths.

I waited for hours, and the sky began to darken. I didn't complain about my men taking that long. That just meant that they were following their training.

My radio started going off. I picked it up, and spoke to the Firefly who called me.

"Repeat," I said.

"I spotted the targets," he whispered. "What are your orders?"

"Do not pursue," I told him. "Target 2 is extremely dangerous. No one is to attack alone. Mark your current location, and make your way to me."

"Yes sir," he responded, and my radio fell silent.

Joel was nearby. I wanted so badly to run to him and strangle him to death. But that would have to wait. The Fireflies work as a team.

A few moments later, five men showed up. Unfortunately, that was all that survived the attack. This task just keeps getting more dangerous. But we had to do it.

"Alright," I said. "Report: What were the targets doing?"

"Hunting," Brandon, The Firefly who called me, said. "They said something about returning to the town. Each of the targets carried hunted animals with them."

I thought to myself. "Alright, so we need to first trace them back to this town of theirs."

"Oh, one thing, sir," Brandon interrupted. "There was a third person there. Ellie called him Jack. Was he on the target list at all?"

"No," I answered. "We have had no hostile encounter with him. If anything, ignore him. If he interferes, take him out."

"Yes sir," he said.

"Anyways," I continued. "Once we get to this town, we need to find the targets without being noticed by anyone else."

"And if we are spotted?" Kate, another friend and Firefly, asked.

"Then we take immediate action based on their response," I said. "If they're peaceful, we'll be peaceful. If they're hostile, then we'll be hostile. Are we familiar with the targets?"

"Yes sir," everyone said.

"Alright, let's move out," I said.

We all started walking towards the location that Brandon saw Ellie and Joel. While we traveled, I looked at my team. I had Brandon, Kate, and a few more Fireflies that I didn't know personally. I glanced at their pendants, and noted the names, James, Mary, and Kevin.

"Alright," I examined the tracks of the targets in the dirt. "The town is this way. Come on, team, and follow me."

We eventually arrived at a town that appeared to be powered by a hydroelectric dam.


	6. Chapter 6

THE LAST OF US: WE HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE

CHAPTER 6: JACK

I still wondered why my arm was wet when I woke up. I wanted to blame it on a leak in the wall or something like that, but… never mind. I've got bigger problems than wet spots on my arms.

Joel opened the large metal doors, even though there were pretty much nothing left of the walls. All three of us felt compelled to still follow the traditional way out. Joel reloaded three guns before we made it into the woods. How many guns did this man have?

I carried my rifle and my pistol with me. Ellie carried a rifle and a bow slung onto her back.

"Well, shit," Joel said as he took a glance back at the town. "That's going to be a tough repair. That battle tore the damn place apart."

"No pun intended?" I asked.

"To the edge of the universe and back," Ellie said.

"Endure and survive," Joel, Ellie and I said together. Okay, these were officially the most awesome people I've ever met.

I also glanced back at the sad town. People walked around and picked up debris. Others had blueprints for repairs. Man, these guys work fast.

The town fell out of sight as we passed over a hill. We travelled deep into the wilderness. Ellie used her bow to catch a couple of rabbits, but we needed either something bigger, or a lot more rabbits to feed a town.

"Shh," Joel said. "There, do you see it?"

Joel gestured to a deer about thirty yards away from us. I was surprised we didn't scare it off.

"You ready?" he asked Ellie.

"Yeah," she answered, pulling an arrow into the bowstring.

In an instant, the arrow flew into the base of the buck's neck. Somehow, it survived the blow, and ran.

"Damn it," Ellie said. "Not again."

Again? I looked at Joel with a confused look. He just shrugged at me, and we ran to pursue her.

"Shh," she said once we caught up to her. "You guys stay here, you'll just startle it."

"Yes ma'am," Joel said, almost sarcastically.

Ellie left me and Joel alone while she hunted the buck.

"Man, she's determined to get that thing," I said once she was out of earshot.

"Yeah," Joel said. "When she sets her mind to something, it gets done."

We sat there for a few silent moments.

"So," I broke the silence, "What did you do to make Ellie mad?"

"What are you talking about?" he said, trying to avoid the question.

"Before we went into your house," I explained. "She said that she was sorry that I had to see what was about to happen. Then, you were there being yelled at."

"Oh, well…" Joel sighed. "It's a long story."

"I have time," I said.

"Trust me," he said. "You don't."

"Fair enough," I said. I wasn't sure exactly what kind of person Joel was, so I decided not to push my luck.

"So where are you from?" I asked him, trying to start conversation.

"You seem very curious for a… however old you are," Joel said.

"Sixteen," I answered. "And, yeah, curiosity killed the cat, but I'm not much of a cat person."

"Boston," he said.

"That's what Ellie said," I replied. "Did you two live together?"

"No," Joel answered. "I met her about a year ago."

"Oh," I said. "How did you end up here?"

"You know," he said," Taking it one step at a time isn't going to get me to tell the long story."

"Alright, you caught me," I chuckled.

"Jack, right?" he asked.

"Yep," I answered," And you're Joel."

"That's right," he answered.

After a few moments, we heard some footsteps. Ellie came from behind a tree to meet us.

"Well," she said proudly, "I got the deer, and found another one, too. I need your guys' help to get them."

"Sure," Joel said.

We stood up and followed Ellie to her kills: two fucking huge bucks. I've never hunted deer before, but I'm pretty sure these things were bigger than normal.

"Alright," Joel said. "I can handle one on my own, and you two can carry the other."

Joel picked up one of the deer, and started walking back to the town. I looked at the sky, and realized that it was starting to darken. We were out for at least an hour.

"Come on, Jack," Ellie said. "I can't lift this damn thing by myself."

"Sure thing," I said.

I walked over to the deer, and helped Ellie lift it over our shoulders. We followed Joel back to Tommy's town. Once we arrived, I noticed that workers were already mounting new metal plates for the walls. They must have been storing extra material somewhere.

I'm not sure what it was, but something about this place made me feel like I'm at home. Even though it was just recently devastated, I felt comfortable here. Well, I must say, it's a hell of a lot better than what my dad was doing.

We took the deer into a butcher's building, where he told us he could handle things from there.

Joel went to the Tommy's office, while Ellie went for a walk around the town. I decided to follow Ellie.

"Hey," I said once I caught up to her. "You were pretty impressive back there."

"Oh, hunting?" she said. "Yeah, I have some experience."

"I can tell," I said. "Anyway, where are you heading?"

"Home," she answered. "I need to check if those comics made it."

"Damn," I said. "In the midst of clicker attacks, I forgot all about those."

Ellie sighed, "I just hope the fucking things made it."

We arrived at the destroyed house, and went straight to her room. The bookshelf had been knocked forward. When we picked it up, we saw that the shelf practically created a shield for the comics.

"Those are some damn lucky comics," I chuckled.

"No fucking kidding," she replied, picking up the paper books, and putting them in her pack. "But nothing that lucky happens twice in a row, so I'll keep these with me."

"Sounds like a plan," I agreed.

Ellie turned and noticed something on her blood soaked bed. When she picked it up, I noticed that it was a note. I stayed silent so she could read it.

I watched her expression carefully as she read the hand written letter. At first, she seemed confused. As she read, her emotions became deeper, and tears began to form in her eyes.

"Fuck," she said, wiping tears from her face.

I walked close to her, "What's wrong?"

"I… I need… where's…" Ellie couldn't find her words.

"Ellie?" we heard Joel call from the destroyed living room.

"Back here," I called. Joel quickly responded to my call.

"Have any of you two seen…" he trailed off when he saw Ellie. He moved to her side, and put his arm around her. She handed him the note she found on her bed.

I saw anger, yet sorrow in Joel's eyes as he read the note. In rage, he crumpled the paper, but in sadness, he handed it to me.

I reluctantly unraveled the letter. It was written by Tommy. It read:

_To whoever the hell picks this up,_

_I'm leaving. For good. This place has made its last fucking scar on me. Maria… My wife… the last amazing thing I had on this planet, was ready to bless me with another amazing thing. I was about to be a father. Maria was three weeks pregnant today. But we suffered a major attack. She was battling a clicker when I found her. She told me that everything was fine when we killed the fucker… But then she spoke with me privately, revealing a bite on her shoulder. That's why I'm leaving. Where I'm going or what I'll do is another question. I don't know if I'll start fresh or just fucking end my life. Joel, if you read this, I want you to know that I respect your decision to spare Ellie's life, even at the cost of the world. She should be thankful for that, and I'm sure that she will, in time. I don't want either of you thinking that this happened because you stopped the chance for a cure._

_Take care, and good luck,_

_Tommy_

Damn. I didn't even know the man too well, but he had taken me into his town when I was in trouble. I respected this man. And now he's gone. And may or may not be alive.

I didn't realize I was crying until a tear fell onto the paper. I wiped my face, knowing it would be useless to try to hide it. What was he point anyway? I already had two people in tears in front of me.

"I'm sorry, Joel," Ellie said.

"What?" Joel said.

"Tommy's right," she continued. "I should be thankful for what you did."

"Now, hold on," Joel said. "You don't have to change your mind for something Tommy said."

I was tempted to say something, but I figured that this wasn't my battle.

"No, Joel," Ellie continued. "I was wrong to accuse you of trying to replace Sarah. But whether or not that's the reason you chose to save me, you're the only father figure I've ever had. Thanks, I guess."

Joel hugged Ellie tightly. Just when you thought that we would finally have a long lasting, heart touching moment, gunshots were heard outside. Followed by a voice that said, "Oh fuck, Fireflies!"

"Shit," Joel said.

"You think they're after me?" Ellie asked.

"Most likely," Joel answered.

"Well," I said with a smirk on my face, "Let's go fuck them up."

Joel also managed a half smile, "To the edge of the universe and back."

"Endure and survive," The three of us said together.


	7. Chapter 7

THE LAST OF US: WE HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE

CHAPTER 7: JOEL

Endure and survive.

A heavy weight was lifted off of my chest. Somehow, my brother solved my problems without even being here. I needed to find him, dead or alive. But first, we had a few Fireflies to deal with.

I made sure my revolver was loaded, and walked towards the exit.

"Stay close to me," I told Ellie.

"Got it," She answered.

"Jack," I said. "She's going to be watching my back. I need you to watch hers. Can I trust you with that?"

"Of course," he replied.

"Good," I sighed. "Let's get a move on."

We ran out into the open, where hundreds of townspeople were readying their weapons. Apparently, this town wasn't too fond of the Fireflies either. But that didn't stop the Fireflies. Six of them had assault rifles, and were firing at the civilians.

Ellie, Jack, and I ducked behind a building. The Fireflies didn't notice us as they passed. I grabbed one of the men from behind, and held my gun to his head.

"Get the fuck off of him!" One of the others yelled. They took cover from me.

"Don't try anything stupid!" I yelled back.

"Hey, listen," one of the men stepped out. "We don't want to hurt anyone. We were attacked. We just want…"

"I know what you fucking want," I said. "And you're not getting her."

"I just want to talk, Joel," he said. "My name's Chris."

"Pleasure," I said. "Now go away."

Chris became irritated. "Come on, humanity is on the line here."

"Humanity has always been on the god damn line," I said. "Some of us have survived for over twenty years. We can keep surviving."

"Not forever," Chris said. "I don't know if you've noticed, but the infected are getting smarter. How long before they start carrying guns?"

"It can't be much worse than the people I've had to fight," I said.

"And kill," Chris finished."You took a lot of good lives to preserve your own."

This guy was pretty good at changing subjects. "Have we met?"

He raised his gun to me. "No, but you've met my sister."

"Oh, shit," I said, and ducked for cover as Chris opened fire.

All hell broke loose once those shots were fired. The bullets barely grazed my shoulder, and all the people who lived in the city opened fire. Everyone was forced to spread out in every direction.

A Firefly grabbed Ellie from behind. The firefly pulled out a small needle, and even though Ellie struggled, he injected her with a liquid that made her unconscious. She fell limp as the Firefly carried her away… or tried.

I ran to him, and hooked him in the jaw. As he began to recover, he was met with a boot in the face. Blood splattered from his nose, but he tried to get up again. I shot him with my revolver in the back of his head, and he fell lifeless.

Jack ran to my side as I picked up Ellie.

"We have to get her somewhere safe," I told him. "Keep us safe."

"Got it," he said.

We ducked into one of the houses, and I set Ellie down in a corner. I stayed next to her as Jack and I fired out the windows. I'll give the Fireflies some credit; they know how to avoid a bullet. These were going to be some tough targets.

"Fuck," I heard Jack say from behind me."

"What? What's wrong?" I asked.

"That army of infected…" he said. "They're fucking back."

"Well, shit," I said.

All the gunfire and commotion here must have drawn them back here. Now, on top of being hunted by Fireflies, we were about to be swarmed by infected. This day just couldn't stop getting worse.

"Keep us safe," I told Jack as I picked up Ellie again.

"I got you covered," he promised.

I took off in the opposite direction of the infected. Unfortunately, that was also into the crossfire. Bullets of every kind flew in every direction. The gunfire decreased as the crowd realized what I was running from. The horde entered the already devastated city once again.

Panic broke out as hundreds of people screamed and ran for their lives to escape the army of infected. Again, the runners and stalkers led the clickers and bloaters into the area. A runner managed to catch up to us. As he promised, Jack attacked the thing before I reached me.

Ellie began to regain her consciousness in my arms. Realizing what was going on, she gripped me tightly, but was still too dazed to run on her own.

Jack fired at more infected as they caught up. Surprisingly, he was a pretty good aim. He never missed a shot, conserving his ammo well.

"What the fuck happened?" Ellie said, still in a daze.

"Shooting attracted infected," Jack said. "Long story, keep moving."

"I'll explain later," I said. "We have to get out of here."

At this point, everyone else had started ignoring the Fireflies, and the Fireflies ignored everyone else. The infected began to overrun the town. People ran for their lives, trying anything to get away from the horde.

"Joel, fucking put me down," Ellie demanded. "I'm awake now."

"Yes ma'am," I said, putting her on her feet.

She pulled out her pistol that I gave her a year ago. I told her that it was only to be used for emergencies. I guess this was bad enough to be considered an emergency.

Putting her down also freed my hands to pull out my own weapon for emergencies. I pulled out my modified revolver that I called _El Diablo. _This extremely powerful weapon had a downside though. Because it was heavily modified to be beyond powerful, it could only fire one bullet before I had to reload.

I shot it at a bloater, and the bullet pierced through its natural fungus armor, killing it instantly. I reloaded, and shot another bloater, also killing it. After that, I decided to swap to my flamethrower, which unleashed a wave of death on the infected.

Jack, Ellie and I held our ground pretty well. But that wouldn't last long. We needed an escape plan.

"Cover me," Jack said.

He turned around and took off his pack. He pushed around supplies searching for something… hopefully a plan for escape. I turned back towards the infected and opened fire. There were still hundreds of them. I still couldn't wrap my mind around how many there were.

"Watch out," Jack finally said, holding a small pouch. He threw it at the ground a couple feet in front of me. The pouch exploded into a cloud of dust, confusing the nearby infected. Clickers began to trip over the dazed runners, giving us a perfect opportunity to…

"Run!" I shouted.

Jack, Ellie and I took off into the woods behind us. I glanced back, and saw that we weren't being followed.

"Nice job, Jack," I said once we stopped running.

"Thanks," he said. "It was nothing, really."

"Well, 'nothing' just saved our lives," Ellie said.

Our brief conversation was interrupted by the sounds of screaming and clicking.

"Come on," I said. "Let's get a move on."

We ran away from the horrid sounds until they began to fade. We reached a higher ground were we could get a view of Tommy's dam. With hesitation, I looked down at the town.

Years of hard work and dedication went into this place. So many people dedicated every fiber of their body to create this sanctuary from the hell of this world. And now, because some damn Fireflies decided to have a shootout, that sanctuary was destroyed. Looking at the devastation, I couldn't even tell where the walls or buildings use to be.

I looked away, unable to stand it any longer. I saw Ellie also welling up with emotion. And even Jack, who had only been there for one day, was full of sadness.

"We've got to get moving," I said. "That horde might head in this direction, and we won't stand a chance."

"Okay," Ellie said dryly.

"Right behind you," Jack said.


	8. Chapter 8

THE LAST OF US: WE HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE

CHAPTER 8: JACK

SUMMER

Yet another sleepless night. It seems that my nights are either filled with nightmares, or I simply don't sleep at all. I just can't get Tommy's town off of my mind.

Even after five fucking days, it still traumatizes me.

I sat up gently, careful not to wake up Ellie or Joel on the other sides of the room. We camped inside of an old summer camp one room lodge. All of the other cabins were torn down over the years. Somehow this one made it.

I stepped outside into the summer night breeze. For an apocalyptic world, it sure had its peaceful moments. The cabin was built next to a lake that glistened in the moonlight. A few trees lined the shore, and a vast forest blanketed the area on the other side of the cabin.

"Hey," a voice made me jump.

I turned around, and leaped back. Not in a stealthy way, either. It was more like a drunk six year old in half alert mode.

"Chill out, man," Ellie said. "It's just me."

"Oh, hey," I said. "What are you doing up?"

"I heard you walk out," she answered. "What about you?"

"I couldn't sleep," I admitted. "I have a lot on my mind. I thought some fresh air might've helped."

"Any luck?" Ellie asked.

"Nope," I replied.

We sat there for a few silent moments. She looked out onto the lake as it continued to glisten.

"What?" she asked as I realized that I was staring at her.

"Oh, nothing," I said, glancing to the ground. "What about Joel?"

"What about him?"

"I mean… I haven't heard him say anything about…"

"Tommy?"

"Yeah," I confirmed. "Is he, you know, alright?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "He's been acting a little… off lately."

"What do you mean 'off'?" I asked.

Ellie sighed, "I'm not sure. He's just been a little… quiet."

"And he's usually not?" I asked. Joel never really talked much. At least, not around me. I think our little talk outside of Tommy's place was our most in depth conversation we ever had.

"Nah," Ellie replied. "Not once you get to know him. It's just one of those things that take some time."

Our conversation was interrupted by moans and clicks.

"Fuck," Ellie cursed as we backed up against the cabin. The clicks continued, but they were not quite loud enough to be a clicker. Maybe a stalker was hiding somewhere.

"Come on," I whispered to Ellie. "Follow me."

She nodded and I slowly walked towards the front of the cabin. We were on the cabin's side, so we would have to move around a corner to get to the door. Great…

As we reached the edge of the wall, a twig snapped under my feet. Also great… I was tackled by a stalker that jumped out from the turn. I was pinned to the ground, struggling to avoid being mauled.

Ellie drew a knife, and started stabbing the creature's back. That got the thing off of me, but then it tackled Ellie to the ground.

_BAM!_ From inside the cabin, Joel shot the stalker, and Ellie pushed it's corpse off of herself.

"Thanks," Ellie said.

"Sure thing," Joel said. "What the hell happened?"

"We were just talking," Ellie answered.

"And then we were ambushed," I finished.

In the distance, we heard the sounds of hundreds of screams and clicks.

"Damn it," I said. "It's that horde."

"We need to move," Joel said. "I can't tell how far away they are, but I don't think we have much time to wait around."

"Lead the way," Ellie said.

We left the cabin behind, taking only what we carried in our packs. This included our guns, food, and for Ellie, comics. Luckily, all of that was pretty light weight.

Normally, I always thought of the woods as peaceful and relaxing. But at night, the woods were a terrifying thing to me. The dark never really scared me. But it was just too perfect for an ambush.

We slowed down to walking speed, and Ellie slowed down until she was next to me.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi," I responded. "Yeah, I've never been a fan of ambush," I said.

"Same here," Ellie said.

"We're not going to be ambushed," Joel said in front of us. "We're fine."

"Whatever you say," Ellie said.

We fell silent for a few moments. I listened into the wilderness. There were no sign of us being followed.

"So," I broke the silence. "Have you been reading _Savage Starlight_?"

Joel sighed, I couldn't tell from relief of the broken silence, or annoyance of the subject.

"Dude, I've done better," she replied. "I finished it just before we went to sleep last night."

"Wow," I said. "What did you think of the ending?"

"I don't know," she said. "I love it, and hate it at the same time. It's a great ending and all, but it doesn't really explain anything."

"I thought that too," I said. "I wish it was just two fucking pages longer…"

"Yeah, no kidding," she chuckled.

"Shit," Joel said. "Get down."

We took cover behind some trees. The trees were wide and dense enough to conceal us.

"What is it, Joel?" I asked.

"There's something in the bushes over there," he whispered.

"I don't hear any clicking," Ellie observed. "A runner maybe?"

"I don't hear moaning," I said.

"But the infected are getting smarter," Joel reminded us. "We can't take any chances."

I froze as the rustling in the bush became louder. Something was definitely there, ready to attack. And as the suspense reached its peak, a rabbit jumped out of the bush.

Nope, you heard me right: a rabbit.

"I think you're losing your cool, Joel," I said.

"My cool?" Joel asked.

"Never mind," I chuckled as Ellie elbowed me.

No that all threat has been removed, we continued up the path. I still didn't know where we were heading. In fact, I didn't think that Joel knew. According to Ellie, his plan was to spend the rest of our lives in Tommy's town.

But there it was again, stuck in my damn mind. I don't know why I felt so attached to that place. I was only there for half a day. Maybe I was in shock from seeing the infected work together like that. If anything, that was horrifying.

That one Firefly said something about them holding guns. That would've never crossed my mind in the past, but now I've considered it. This society knew how to handle your everyday infected. They were predictable. But now, they might become just as dangerous as the people we have to fight.

"So, Joel," I said. "Where are we going?"

"To be honest," he responded, "I'm not sure. Anywhere to get away from those things."

According to Ellie, Joel was never really 'afraid' of the infected. True, they always put a certain anxiety into our hearts, but nothing like the cheesy acting in a horror film. But now, to see Joel so desperate to get away from them, I began to worry.

I looked over to Ellie, whose eyes met mine. She seemed to be thinking the same thing about Joel. That proved to me that this wasn't good.

Then, I found myself on the ground. Something tackled me into the dirt. Ellie kicked it off, allowing me to get up, and get a better look.

It was a kid with dark skin. He looked about fourteen… maybe. His head had fungus impaling through the skull, and his body was spotted with fungal growth.

The kid looked at Ellie, and his deformed features relaxed. Except for the fact that he charged at her, knocking her to the ground.

_BAM!_ Joel shot the infected child off of Ellie, and she back away from his body.

"Joel…" Ellie was petrified.

Joel didn't say anything, but instead moved to Ellie, and comforted her. I walked slowly towards them, and knelt down. Ellie was covering her face with her hands, and she breathed heavily through her sobs.

"What's wrong?" I asked softly.

Joel looked at me with a look that said: _just a minute._

"That's…" Ellie stuttered. "That's Sam."


End file.
